'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎201r] (406/470)

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There is, however, an annual exodus from the Khafajah territory, when
hundreds of Khafajah men, women, and children move down to Basrah for the
date harvest. When once again the Khafajah lands become available for cultiva
tion, this will, to a large extent, cease, though, on account of the date harvest coming
at a time when no work is possible on the land, it is improbable that this annual
movement will die entirety.
When the Political Officer, Nasiriyah, appointed ‘Ali al Fadhl head Shaikh
of the Khafajah, the latter, well knowing the state of the tribe, flatty refused to
become the Government nominee. For many days he sat on the Political Officer’s
doorstep pleading old age and a hundred and one other excuses, and begging to be
allowed to live quietly without the worry of .the tribe. He was, however, the man
for the appointment, and when he saw there was no chance of release he set to
work to repair the damage of years. That he has succeeded is fully proved by the
fact that there has only been one robbery of any importance in the Khafajah
territory during the past year.
Of the various sections of the Khafajah very little need be said, as they cause
no trouble. At one time it looked as though Muhsin al Salim, Rais of the Al Salim
section, was attempting to usurp ‘Ali al Fadhl’s position, but the continued Govern
ment support afforded to the latter settled the incident without the need of any
drastic measures. Muhsin has now fallen very much into the background.
‘ Ali al Fadhl is a strong man, but his son Saqban is a man of still greater force
of character. He is now an officer in the Muntafiq Horse, and is far and away the
best officer in the Corps. In his present position he is receiving a thorough insight
into Government methods and requirements, and one looks forward with keen
anticipation to the time when he will take over the reins of Government of Khafajah.
Then, with a plentiful supply of water, the tribe will grow once more into that
former state of prosperity from which it has so unavoidably fallen.
Bani Sa‘id .—Head Shaikh, Sulaiman al Sharif. Sulaiman al Sharif is unfortunate
in having three powerful factors working against him in his own tribe. They are,
firstly, ‘Uwaiyish al Jabbarah, of the Jabbarah section; secondly, Sirhan al Sharrad,
Rais of the ‘Udhaimiyin, and thirdly, Shamki al Huwaichim, of Bani Zaid al Dachchah.
The latter can almost be omitted, as his tribe is widely separated geographically
from the remainder of the Bani Sa‘id (see map). The first two present a rather
more difficult problem, as each man is working hard for independence. ‘Uwaiyish
al Jabbarah is a weakling both in body and in character. He is at present away on
a pilgrimage, and his place, as regards opposition towards Sulaiman, is most ably
filled by his cousin Muhammad al Mulla Husain, now in prison. I have had continued
trouble with this gentleman, and am now ordering the demolition of his tower.
He has been in prison for over a month. This will, I hope, bring him to his senses.
He is a land grabber of the worst type, and has before three different courts
re-opened a question of talyah which was settled some long while ago by Colonel
Howell. This man’s intrigues should be carefully watched, for he spends most of his
time trying either to acquire some one else’s land or trying to lower Sulaiman al
Sharif in the eyes of the Government.
Of Sirhan al Sharrad little need be said. He is a powerful man, who had cut
himself off from Sulaiman al Sharif. He, therefore, strongly resents the consolidation
of the tribe. But for this, Sirhan is a man of pleasing demeanour, and is always
anxious to please. This may, of course, be due to the fact that he wishes to be
recognised as an independent Shaikh.
Apart from the above, the Bani Zaid give little trouble. Sulaiman is sufficiently
influential to keep the tribe in order, and he is generally able to deal with small
tribal cases sent to him for settlement.
Albu Sa'ad .—Head Shaikh, Husain al Ju‘aiyin. This is a small tribe, but it has
given a considerable amount of trouble. It is composed of four sections (see
Appendix B.), and the head of each section took very great pains, on my arrival here,
to gather together all the influential people of the district for the purpose of informing
me that the Albu Sa‘ad was not one tribe but four. Each was independent, and
neither could on any account acknowledge the leadership of any one shaikh. For
some time I allowed them to continue more or less independently, until I was in a
position to ascertain who was the strongest man. The Shaikh with the prior claim
to the shaikhship was Sa‘dun al Kuraidi, and I gave him every opportunity of
proving his claim. He did not, however, avail himself of those opportunities and
has turned out to be more or less a nonentity. His son ‘Ubaid, however, is a good